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| Contributed Photo National Honor Society students from chapters all over Aroostook County collected numerous bags full of clothing for Catholic Charities. This pile of clothing was from the latest collection on April 7. |
By Ginger Kieffer and Emma Duplissie-Cyr
Special to the Aroostook Republican
The National Honor Society chapters in Aroostook County haven taken part in a clothing drive sponsored by Catholic Charities. Program Director of Catholic Charities, Mrs. Dixie Shaw, presented the idea of this drive to the chapter officers at our northern regional meeting early last fall.
Shaw explained the details of the program as follows: The chapter schools would place a large tote in a designated area and advertise the ongoing collection. The clothing collected would then be picked up by Catholic Charities and taken to be weighed and wrapped in heavy duty plastic. Five totes would be bundled together to weigh out at over 1,050 lbs. These bundles would then be loaded into tractor trailer trucks and delivered to a company that purchases the clothing and distributes the material throughout the world for recycling.
The clothing, shoes, sheets, belts, etc. collected are sent worldwide, creating jobs in the recycling industry. The proceeds of this sale return back to Catholic Charities and are used to buy food items for the 25 food pantries in northern Maine. Each bundle collected is worth about $294.
The NHS chapters eagerly agreed to the prospect of making a difference in both Aroostook County and the world and promptly began the clothing drive. The standing tote numbers for each chapter are as follows: Caribou, 55.5; Houlton, 26; Presque Isle, 15; Easton, 14.5; Fort Fairfield, 11.5; Madawaska, 11; Van Buren, 10; Limestone, 4.5; Wisdom, 3.5; and Mars Hill, 3.
The schools in Aroostook County have populations from just under 600 to less than 100 students.The chapters vary in size from about 40 in the larger schools to as few as 5 in the smaller schools. Over the past year the chapters have raised 136.5 totes of clothing, a total of over $8,026.20.
According to Shaw, the NHS Clothing Drive has been their most successful fundraiser, providing much needed food items for the pantries in Aroostook County. Catholic Charities provides assistance to 25 food pantries in The County, from Fort Kent to Southern Aroostook.
The National Honor Society chapters would like to thank the communities of Aroostook County for their generous involvement in the multiple clothing drive collections, as well as Shaw and the good people at Catholic Charities for the opportunity to assist the County and the world.
